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LAWS CONCERNING 
DOGS. 

A COMPILATION OF 
THE PUBLIC ACTS OF 
1907 & 1909, RELATING 
TO DOGS. 



Corrected to the rising of General Assembly of 1909 

by 

HEMAN O. AVERILL, 

Commissioner on Domestic Animals. 




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LAWS CONCERNING 
DOGS, 

A COMPILATION OF 
THE PUBLIC ACTS OF 
1907 & 1909, RELATING 
TO DOGS. 



Corrected to the rising of General Assembly of 1909 
by 

HEMAN O. AVERILL, 

Commissioner on Domestic Animals. 




D. OF 0. 

MAY 2 1910 



[Public Acta of 1907, Chapter 167, as amend- 
ed by Chapter 252 of Public Acts, 1907, 
and Chapter 55 of Public Acts, 1909.] 

? 

LAWS CONCERNING DOGS. 



Section 1. Registration and License of 
Dogs. Every owner or keeper of a dog of 
the age of six months or over, excepting 
dogs kept in kennels under a kennel license 
as hereinafter provided, shall, on or before 
the first of May, or at such time as such 
dog shall become six months old, and in 
each year thereafter, cause such dog to be 
registered, numbered, described so as to 
clearly identify said dog, and licensed until 
the "first day of May following, in the town 
clerk's office in the town where such dog is 
owned or kept, and shall keep around its 
neck a collar as hereinafter provided; and 
shall pay to said town clerk for a license 
for a full year the sum of one dollar for 
each male or spayed dog, and five dollars 
for each unspayed female dog, and twenty- 
five cents additional in each case for regis- 
tration .of said license and the tag herein- 
after provided for; and, in the case of a dog 
becoming six months old after the first day 
of May, the license fee for the balance of 
the twelve months shall be a proportional 
part of the fee charged for one year, and 
twenty-five cents for such registration and 
tag; provided, however, that the owner or 
keeper of any dog which was six months 
old or over on the first day of May and who 
neglects or refuses to cause said dog to be 
licensed on or before said first day of May 
shall, to secure a license for said dog aftei 
said date, pay to the town clerk one dollar 



in addition to the fees hereinbefore pro- 
vided. Every person who shall knowingly 
register as a spayed dog an unspayed female 
dog shall be fined not more than seven dol- 
lars, or imprisoned not more than thirty 
days, or both. , 

Sec 2. Dog to Wear Collar and Tag. 
Every owner of a dog licensed as provided 
by law shall place and keep around the 
neck of such dog a collar of leather or other 
suitable material, to which there shall be 
attached, by means of rivets or metal bands, 
a metal tag or plate upon which shall be 
distinctly marked the name of the town in 
which said dog is registered and licensed, 
the registry number of said dog, and the 
year of registration. Said tag or plate, 
with the inscription thereon, shall be fur- 
nished by the town clerk of the town in 
which said dog is registered; and when- 
ever any such tag or plate shall be lost 
from the collar to which it was attached, 
the owner or keeper of the dog shall secure 
a substitute therefor from the town clerk 
who shall furnish the same at a cost of ten 
cents. The town clerk of eaeh town shall 
order a sufficient number of said metal tags 
or plates from the commissioner on domestic 
animals, who shall furnish the same to said 
town clerk at a cost of five cents each, and 
the town shall pay the bill for said tags, on 
the approval of the town clerk. If, after 
deducting the cost of the tags and the ex- 
penses incidental to the distribution of same 
to the town clerks, and the enforcement of 
the provisions of this act and of chapter 170 
of the public acts of 1907, any balance shall 
remain in the hands of the commissioner on 
domestic animals, such balance shall be ac- 
counted for by him to the state comptroller 
and paid to the state treasurer, and there- 



upon added to the regular appropriation for 
the expenses of said commissioner. The 
design and shape of said tags or plates shall 
be changed each year but shall be of uni- 
form design and material throughout the 
state. 

Sec 3. Kennel License for Dogs. Any 

owner or keeper of a kennel may apply, on 
or before the first day of May, to the town 
clerk of the town in which such kennel is 
located, for a kennel license. The town 
clerk shall issue to such applicant a kennel 
license for one year from said first day of 
May, which license shall specify the name 
of the kennel, the name of the owner, and 
the keeper of same. Such license shall be 
in lieu of any other license required by law 
to be taken out for any dog of either sex 
that may be kept in said kennel during the 
period for which such license is issued. 
Every dog kept in such kennel so licensed 
shall, when at large, wear a collar bearing 
a metal tag or plate upon which shall ap- 
pear the number of the kennel license, the 
name of the town issuing such license, and 
the year thereof, which plates or tag shall 
be furnished by the town clerk of the town 
in which such kennel *s licensed, to the 
licensee, at a cost of ten cents each, in such 
quantities and at such times as the licensee 
may request. The fee of every such kennel 
license, when no more than ten dogs are 
kept in such kennel, shall be twenty-five 
dollars, and for such license for a kennel 
containing more than ten dogs, the fee shall 
be fifty dollars. Every town clerk who shall 
issue a license as provided in this section 
shall receive the money therefor, and, after 
deducting one dollar as his fee and five 
cents for each tag furnished, shall pay thp 
balance to the treasurer of the town within 



thirty days. The provisions of section fif- 
teen of this act shall apply to all dogs be- 
longing to a kennel licensed under the pro- 
visions of this section. , 

Sec 4. Person Becoming Owner of Dog 
to Register. Every person becoming the 
owner or keeper of any dog not duly licensed 
shall forthwith cause said dog to be regis- 
tered, numbered, described, and licensed un- 
til the first day of the ensuing May, in the 
manner and upon the terms and conditions 
hereinbefore provided. 

Sec 5. Certified Copy of Registration 
When Bog Is Removed to Another Town. 

Whenever a dog duly registered according 
to law shall be removed from one town to 
another, the owner or keeper of such dog 
shall procure from the town clerk of the 
town in which such dog is registered a certi- 
fied copy of said registration, and cause the 
same to be recorded in the records of the 
town to which such dog is removed, and 
obtain from the town clerk of said town to 
which such dog is removed a new 
registry and license tag, and such 
record and said tag attached to 
the collar of such dog shall be evidence 
that such dog is registered according to law. 
until the first of May succeeding the date 
of said record. The fees of town clerks for 
the issue and record of such certificates 
shall be fifteen cents each and ten cents for 
such tag, and they shall issue the same 
upon payment of said fees. 

Sfx. 6. List of Registered Dogs. Every 
town clerk shall, annually, on or before the 
first day of June, furnish the selectmen with 
a list of the persons owning or harboring 
dogs who have caused the same to be regis- 



tered, and said selectmen shall thereupon 
cause diligent search for unregistered dogs 
to be made by the dog warden, who shall 
cause persons owning or harboring the" same 
to be prosecuted as hereinafter provided. 
Every town clerk, selectman, or dog warden 
who. shall neglect or refuse to perform any 
duty prescribed by this section shall be fined 
not more than seven dollars for each offense. 

Sec 7. Disposition of License Money. 
Town clerks shall issue and register the 
licenses provided by sections one and three 
of this act, and provide and furnish the 
tags or plates as provided by sections two 
and three as amended and receive the money 
therefor; and after deducting twenty cents 
for each dog so licensed and numbered and 
five cents for each substitute tag sold shall 
pay the balance to the treasurer of the 
town within thirty days thereafter. The 
said treasurer shall keep an accurate and 
separate account of all moneys received and 
expended by him under the provisions of 
this act and shall pay to the state treasurer 
on June first of each year seventy^-five per 
centum of all money so received, including 
the amount of the balance of twenty-five 
per centum retained at the beginning of the 
year preceding as hereinbefore provided. 

Sec 8. Appointment and Duties of Dog 
Warden. The selectmen of every town, ex- 
cept towns containing a city whose limits 
are coterminous with the limits of said 
town, and the chief of police of every city, 
shall, annually, on or before the first day of 
April, appoint some person to be dog war- 
den for the term of one year thereafter, and 
report said appointment within ten days 
of the making thereof to the commissioner 
on domestic animals, and the dog warden 



8 

so appointed shall perform the duties herein- 
after prescribed; provided, that, in any town 
within which there exists a city the limits 
of which are not coterminous with the limits 
of such town, the town dog warden shall ex- 
ercise the powers and duties of his office 
only in such part of such town as is outside 
the limits of such city. The dog warden 
shall make diligent search and inquiry for 
the violation of any provision of this act 
and shall take into his custody every dog 
not having a tag or plate on a collar about 
his neck as hereinbefore provided, or which 
shall not be confined or controlled agreeable 
to any rule, order, or regulation duly pro- 
mulgated by the commissioner on domestic 
animals, or by any local official or officials 
vested with authority to make such rule, 
order, or regulation, and shall impound each 
dog so taken, in some suitable place pro- 
vided by such town or city, for a period of 
seventy-two hours. Said dog warden shall 
immediately notify the owner or keeper of 
any dog so taken, if known, of its impound- 
ment; but, if the owner or keeper of said 
dog is unknown to the dog warden, the dog 
warden shall immediately notify the town 
clerk of the time and place of capture, and 
shall give a particular description of said 
dog, and if such dog shall not, at the expira- 
tion of said period of seventy-two hours, 
have been claimed and released as herein- 
after provided, such dog shall be mercifully 
killed by said warden. Said dog warden, 
upon presentation of a sworn statement of 
services rendered by him under this act, ac- 
ceptable to the selectmen, shall be paid by 
the town three dollars for each dog cap- 
tured, impounded, and killed, and such addi- 
tional remuneration from the general funds 
.of the town or city as the authorities there- 
of may direct. Any dog captured and inv 



pounded under the provisions of this section 
may be redeemed by the owner or keeper 
thereof and released by the dog warden at 
any time within seventy-two hours after its 
Impoundment, upon the payment of the sum 
of three dollars to the dog warden, but, if 
the cause for capture be without fault of 
the owner, said payment shall be one dollar 
only. Any dog warden may be removed, 
for cause, by the authority appointing him, 
and any vacancy occurring in the office of 
dog warden shall be immediately filled by 
said authority. In case of the neglect of 
selectmen or chiefs of police to appoint and 
report their appointment of dog wardens as 
hereinbefore provided, the commissioner on 
domestic animals shall appoint such dog 
wardens, whose duties, powers, and com- 
pensation shall be the same as those of dog 
wardens heretofore described. 

Sec 9. Damage by Dogs, How Paid. 

When any person shall sustain damage by 
dogs to his sheep, lambs, Angora goats. 
Angora kids, horses, hogs, cattle, or other 
domestic animals or poultry, he shall give 
information thereof to one of the selectmen 
of the town in which such damage was 
done, _ or, if said damage is sustained on 
land located in two or more towns, informa- 
tion thereof shall be given to one of the 
selectmen of either of such towns within 
twenty- four hours after the owner has 
knowledge of the same, and thereupon one 
of the selectmen of such town, with a person 
to be named by the person suffering the 
damage, shall estimate the amount of such 
damage, including the labor and time neces- 
sarily expended in finding and collecting 
such animals or poultry injured or sepa- 
rated, and the value of those killed, injured, 
lost, or damaged by said dogs. In case the 



10 

selectman and the person named cannot 
agree upon the amount of the damage, they 
shall choose some disinterested third person 
to assist in estimating the said damage. The 
amount of damages estimated by any two 
of said three persons shall be paid by such 
town, and it may recover such damages, 
when paid, together with the compensation 
of said appraisers, from the owners, keepers, 
or harborers of such dogs if residents of 
such town. If the owners, keepers, or har- 
borers of such dogs shall not be residents 
of the town in which the damage was done, 
the town paying the damage may recover 
such damage and compensation from the 
town or towns where such owners, keepers, 
or harborers reside, unless such owners, 
keepers, or harborers, or such town or towns 
shall, on notice, pay to the treasurer of the 
town which paid said damage the amount of 
such damage and compensation; and any 
town which shall be obliged to pay any 
damage as aforesaid may recover the 
amount thereof from the owners, keepers, or 
harborers of the dogs doing such damage. 
When any town shall have paid such dam- 
ages to the owner of sheep, lambs, Angora 
goats, Angora kids, horses, hogs, cattle, or 
other domestic animals or poultry as pro- 
vided in this section and the amount of such 
damage cannot be collected from the owners, 
keepers, or harborers of said dogs, or shall 
have paid dog wardens for dogs killed as 
provided by this act and amendments there- 
to, or whenever any city, town, or borough 
shall have paid expenses for Pasteur treat- 
ment as provided by section two of chapter 
170 of the public acts of 1907, the selectmen 
of such towns where damages have been 
paid to owners of animals as hereinbefore 
mentioned, or the treasurer of any town, 
city, or borough who shall have paid for 



11 

such Pasteur treatment, shall forward to the 
state treasurer a statement of the facts in 
each case, showing the amount so paid, and 
the state treasurer shall reimburse such 
town to the amount of such damage or ex- 
pense from the funds received by the state 
under the provisions of this act. When the 
identity of the dogs by which the damage 
was done shall be established to the satis- 
faction of the selectmen of the town in 
which such dogs are owned, kept, or har- 
bored, the selectmen shall order that such 
dogs shall be killed forthwith. 

Sec 10. Liability for Damage Done by 
Dog. When a dog shall do any damage, 
either to the body or property of any per- 
son, the owner or keeper, or, if the owner 
or keeper be a minor, the parent or guardian 
of such minor, shall be liable for such dam- 
ages. 

Sec 11. Joint and Several Liability for 
Damage. When any sheep, lambs, or other 
domestic animals, shall have been damaged 
by two or more dogs at the same time, kept 
by two or more persons, the owners or keep- 
ers of such dogs shall be jointly and sever- 
ally liable for such damages. 

Sec 12. Commissioner on Domestic Ani- 
mals May Make Rules Concerning Dogs. 

The commissioner on domestic animals 
may, at any time, make such further rules 
for controlling or destroying dogs in any 
town or towns as he may deem reasonable 
for the security of the inhabitants or their 
property, and notice of such rules shall be 
given by advertising the same in at least 
one newspaper having a circulation in each 
town, city, or borough affected by said rules 
and by mailing a copy thereof to the town 



12 

clerk of each such town not less than five 
days before said rules shall take effect. The 
selectmen or dog warden may kill or cause 
to be killed all dogs which shall not be con- 
trolled or destroyed in accordance with such 
rules, or which shall be found rabid, or are 
justly suspected of being rabid, or are found 
doing mischief when not under the care of 
any person, or are found killing or worrying 
sheep, lambs, or other domestic animals or 
poultry, and shall receive such compensation 
therefor as is provided in section eight as 
amended. 

Sec 13. Dog Found Doing Damage May 
Be Killed. Any person may kill any dog 
which he finds pursuing, worrying, or wound- 
ing any sheep, lambs, or other domestic ani- 
mals, or any dog which he finds straying 
between sunset and sunrise on any farm 
whereon any sheep, lambs, or other domestic 
animals are kept; but no dog, so straying 
between sunset and sunrise, which is kept 
by the occupant of any premises next ad- 
joining the said farm or next adjoining that 
part of any highway which abuts on said 
farm, or which dog is securely muzzled, or 
is accompanied by or within reasonable call 
of any person having the charge of said 
dog, shall be killed unless there is reasonable 
apprehension that such dog, if not killed, 
will pursue, worry, wound, or terrify sheep, 
lambs, or other domestic animals then on 
Said farm. Any person who shall be at- 
tacked, bitten, or otherwise wounded by any 
dog, such person not being upon the prem- 
ises or property of the owner or keeper of 
such dog, may immediately kill such dog, 
or may make complaint thereof to the dog 
warden of the town wherein such dog is 
owned or kept, and said dog warden shall 
immediately make an investigation of such 



13 

complaint, and, if it be found to be sub- 
stantiated and true, shall at once kill said 
dog or order the same to be confined. Any 
person killing- a dog or dogs in accordance 
with the provisions of this section shall not 
be held criminally or civilly liable therefor. 

Sec 14. Penalty. Duty of Officers. Duty 
of Commissioner on Domestic Animals. 

Every person owning, keeping, or harboring 
a dog, who shall violate any provision of this 
act for which no other penalty is provided, 
or any rule for restraining or destroying 
dogs, legally made and published, shall be 
fined not more than seven dollars, or im- 
prisoned not more than thirty days, or both. 
Grand jurors, constables, dog wardens, and 
all prosecuting officers shall diligently in- 
quire after and prosecute any violation of 
the provisions of this act, and the commis- 
sioner on domestic animals shall, upon the 
complaint of any person that any such offi-. 
cer is dilatory or negligent in the perform- 
ance of his duties concerning the enforce- 
ment of this act, make such orders and take 
such action as he shall deem necessary to 
secure such enforcement. 

Sec -15. Penalty for Stealing Registered 
Dog. Every person who shall steal, or con- 
fine and secrete, any registered dog or any 
dog under the age of six months, or who 
shall maliciously remove the collar or reg- 
istry tag from any registered dog, or who 
shall unlawfully kill or injure any such dog, 
shall be liable to the owner in a civil action, 
and shall be fined not more than two hun- 
dred dollars, or imprisoned not more than 
six months, or both. 

Sec 16. Notices to be Annually Posted. 

The selectmen of each town shall, annually. 



14 

at least thirty days before the first of May, 
post a notice in every school district in their 
respective towns, setting forth all the re- 
quirements of this act, with the penalties for 
non-compliance with the same. 

Sec 17. Return of Money to Towns by 
State Treasurer. All moneys received by 
the state treasurer under the provisions of 
section seven of this act, during the year 
ending June first of each year, and remain- 
ing unexpended on July first following, shall 
be returned pro rata to the towns paying the 
same, in proportion to the amounts so paid 
by them, respectively. 

Sec 18. Tax not to be Refunded. No 
moneys paid into the treasury of a town, 
which arise from the tax or license on dogs, 
shall be paid back to the persons from whom 
the same was collected, but the same, if not 
needed for the payment of damages done by 
dogs and the compensation of dog wardens 
under the provisions of this act, or under 
the provisions of section 1936 of the general 
statutes, shall be used for the ordinary pur- 
poses of the town. Every selectman who 
shall sign an order for the repayment of such 
tax or license fee shall be fined not more 
than seven dollars. , 

Sec 19. Whenever any person or 
persons shall make complaint in writing to 
the selectmen of a town, the warden of a 
borough, or the chief of police of a city that 
any dog owned or harbored within said town, 
borough, or city is a nuisance by reason of 
vicious disposition, excessive barking, or 
other disturbance, or that any dog by such 
barking or other disturbance is a source of 
annoyance to any invalid or sick person re- 
siding in the vicinity, said selectmen, chief 



15 

of police, or warden shall investigate such 
complaint and may make such order con- 
cerning the destruction, removal, or restraint 
of such dog as may be deemed necessary. 
Any person owning or harboring such dog 
who shall neglect or refuse to comply with 
such order of said selectmen, chief of police, 
or warden shall be fined not more than seven 
dollars, or imprisoned not more than thirty 
days, or both, and the dog warden having 
jurisdiction shall, upon such neglect or re- 
fusal, capture, confine, release, or kill such 
dog. 

Sec 20. Section three of chapter 170 of 
the public acts of 1907 and all other acts 
or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are 
hereby repealed. , 

Sec. 21. The foregoing provisions relating 
to the payment for tags ordered by town 
clerks from the commissioner on domestic 
animals, and the fees which the town clerks 
shall receive therefor, shall apply to the 
distribution of tags made in 1909. 

Sec 22. This act shall take effect from 
its passage. 



[Public Acts, 1907, Chapter 170.] 

AN ACT CONCERNING THE PREVEN- 
TION AND TREATMENT OF RABIES. 

Section 1. Notice to Be Given by Health 
Officer to Commissioner on Domestic Ani- 
mals. The health officer or board of health 
of any town, city or borough shall, within 
twenty-four hours after having received in- 
formation of the existence or supposed ex- 
istence within such town, city, or borough 
of the infectious disease known as rabies, 
give notice thereof to the commissioner on 



16 

domestic animals, who shall make immediate 
investigation and may make such rules and 
regulations for the adequate confinement, 
control, or destruction of dogs, or other do- 
mestic animals, as he may deem necessary 
to prevent the spread of said disease and 
to protect the public therefrom. Notice of 
such rules and regulations shall be given by 
said commissioner by advertising the same 
in a newspaper having a circulation in each 
town, city, or borough affected by said rules 
and regulations and by mailing a copy 
thereof to the town clerk of each such town 
not less than five days before said rules 
and regulations shall take effect. Every 
such town clerk, on receipt of said copy, 
shall forthwith give, at the expense of the 
town, such further notice thereof as in his 
opinion is necessary to notify the inhabit- 
ants of said town of the provisions of said 
rules and regulations. 

Sec 2. Pasteur Treatment to Be Provided 
by Town. If any person shall have been 
injured by a dog or other domestic animal 
affected or believed to be affected by rabies, 
and a registered physician shall certify un- 
der oath that Pasteur treatment of such 
injury is necessary, the selectmen of the 
town, the mayor of the city, or the warden 
of the borough in which such injury was 
received shall, upon receipt of the certificate 
of said physician, immediately provide for 
said treatment, and the expense thereof shall 
be paid by said town, city, or borough. 

Sec 3. Penalty. Every person who shall 
violate or neglect or refuse to comply with 
any rule or regulation made under the pro- 
visions of section one of this act shall be 
fined not more than seven dollars. 



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